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Topic: Kontak Audio Cleaning Fluid (Read 3622 times)

We audiophiles all know that cleanliness is next to godliness, but how much of a difference can cleaning make, and what do we use to clean connectors, sockets etc ?

At the very minimum, we need to keep contacts clean and free from oil, grease and dirt. Most of use would have the habit of avoiding touching our plugs with our bare fingers, or wiping it down with some isopropyl alcohol periodically. I used to apply a very popular contact enhancer to my system, but it tended to gunk up after a while and imparted a strange sound over time.

Kontak Audio Cleaning Fluid is not a new product. It has been around for ages, and is claimed to have been originally designed for military aerospace application, and not to leave any residue.

The amount of fluid provided should be enough to last for a few years of use.

Surfaces aren't merely clean because they look so. I decided to try cleaning the spade connectors on my speaker cables on the amplifier side only. These are Cardas rhodium plated connectors.

I must say that this product is really effective. My system was definitely producing sound that was clearer, with an improvement in fine detail and bass articulation. A subtle layer of "grit" had been removed too. It didn't take much effort to notice the differences, and the improvements were obvious without any noticeable downsides or tonal anomalies. Very impressive considering that this was achieved with just cleaning at one connection point.

Conclusion

Works as claimed and at a price tag that doesn't break the bank. Every audiophile needs a bottle. I've heard complaints about the bottle having sealing issues, so make sure you check your bottle when you purchase it.

Since our lives don't depend on it (not on airplane), a can of $6.50 contact cleaner from the neighbourhood hardware shop does the job as well.

For what it's worth, I've used regular contact cleaner, denatured alcohol and Pro-gold. All three sound quite different. Pro-gold and it's cousin De-oxit are the most effective products I've used in restoring the shine to plated surfaces and regular nickel plated connectors respectively. But as for their sound ...

For what it's worth, I've used regular contact cleaner, denatured alcohol and Pro-gold. All three sound quite different. Pro-gold and it's cousin De-oxit are the most effective products I've used in restoring the shine to plated surfaces and regular nickel plated connectors respectively. But as for their sound ...

I agree with watchdog's comment on Pro-gold and De-oxit. And its close to impossible to remove them once you use them. Even if you clean those contacts (which had been treated with pro-gold) many times with concentrated alcohol, one can still hear hear its sonic signature. As for the residue, it will take quite a while for it to disappear.

One can just buy those cheap contact cleaners from hardware store. However, many contact cleaners leave quite a bit of residue (read the labels). And these residue creates certain type of sonic signature which can be easily heard from a more transparent audio system.

The safest thing to do is to clean the contacts with concentrated alcohol, but make sure that there are no additives in it. Clean those contact at least 3 times.

As for the comment that rhodium is inert, I believe gold is inert as well. I do get the same result as Watchdog when I clean contact that are plated with gold. This is especially true for speakers terminations.